When pursuing that special ensemble, two well-established husband-and-wife teams are
go-to exponents of luxury.

WEST BROWARD

Weston Jewelers

1728 Main St., Weston, 954-389-7990

Amid the small-town ambience of Weston Town Center sits one of the country’s top 100 jewelers.

“It’s pretty amazing since there are about 40,000 jewelers in the country,” Weston Jewelers CEO Edward Dikes says of the Harper’s Bazaar honor. “And only 0.01 percent of the jewelers in this country have Rolex.”

The allure of Rolex – and such other luxury brands as Cartier, Bulgari, Hublot, Chopard and Mikimoto – is just one of the reasons “to come out and enjoy the experience,” says Dikes, co-owner with his wife, Tracey, of the 4,000-square-foot showroom now in its 16th year. “We’re trying to break that barrier of, ‘Oh, it’s so far.’ It’s not anymore. Because of the I-595 expansion, I can make it from downtown Fort Lauderdale in 22 minutes.

“When somebody says, ‘Well, I live on the east side of town,’ I have clients who come here from Miami, Jupiter, from Russia, so …. Once you get here, it’s a beautiful environment and a great shopping experience.”

Dikes is happy to polish the other facets of that experience, such as the large selection at different price points, from custom designs to diamonds of up to 20 carats in stock direct from the cutter; an experienced staff, all with 20 or more years in the business; and a one-person-at-a time approach to customer service – not to mention the complimentary Friday evening champagne or Saturday morning Mimosas.

And then there’s the trust factor, Dikes says.

“When you’re buying a beautiful piece of jewelry, something that is very special, you want to go to somebody you trust. I think our reputation basically tells it all.”

Tracey adds: “You’ll travel to wherever your doctor is if you trust him. And it’s the same thing for …”

The elite location with the statewide reputation is celebrating the first anniversary of its beachside sister store, where bridal gowns, evening wear and other high-end dresses sell at about a 60 percent markdown. Ranging from $50 bridesmaid dresses to $2,100 evening gowns, the average price for a dress at the Secret Closet is $300.

“The response is good,” says Ave Keller, co-owner with his wife of 42 years, the stores’ eponymous fashion icon. “The name is very well-known. A lot of people are coming in through word-of-mouth, and because of that, we’re also getting a great supply of merchandise direct from manufacturers. So it’s working all around.

“The store is 4,000 feet and we’re already running out of space. It’s the biggest inventory in the Southeast – that’s not disputable.”

Secret Closet racks hold over 3,000 items, most once available at the 40-year-old Las Olas store, including those sold back by customers.

“A lot of women wear the gown once and are looking not to put a lot of money into it,” Ave says. “Everything is half-off at least.”

This month’s anniversary sale may make even those discounts seem modest, with price-tags of $150 on previously $3,000 gowns that were loaned for fashion shoots and shows, movies and charity events.

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City & Shore, published 10 times yearly, is a magazine that savors the good life in South Florida. Each issue explores South Florida fashion, home design, travel, fine dining, society, entertainment and lifestyle. The magazine is distributed with the Sun Sentinel to selected subscribers. Also available through mail and upscale businesses from north Miami-Dade, through Broward to Palm Beach counties. City & Shore is published by the Sun Sentinel Co., publisher of the Sun Sentinel, South Florida's leading daily newspaper; and is also available on iTunes, http://tinyurl.com/cf6n93p